


Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.

by iscatterthemintimeandspace



Series: New York State of Mind [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Modern AU, au prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-08 09:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3204584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iscatterthemintimeandspace/pseuds/iscatterthemintimeandspace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What do you want to go on first?” he asked, walking a little faster to keep up with her excited gait. Kili reached for her hand, but hesitated. What if she didn't want to hold his hand? What if it was too soon? He pulled it back, kicking himself for being a coward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: 1)Person A on a date with Person B. Person A spends the entire day trying to reach for Person B’s hand to hold it, but hesitate at the last second and stop themselves altogether. Finally, they give up. Person B then easily takes Person A’s hand and holds it tight. 
> 
> 2) important otp thing to consider: who rocks the ferris wheel seat even more important: which one is terrified and crying and clinging to the other to try and get them to stop

“I can't believe you've never been to Coney Island!” Tauriel exclaimed. “And you call yourself a New Yorker!” 

“Manhattanite,” Kili corrected, following the leggy red-head up the boardwalk. “And I didn't have a lot of time, with school and everything.” He explained, pulling his sweater around him. Despite the bright spring sunshine, it was still cold near the ocean, the cold spray whipping at his face.

Tauriel turned back towards him, her hair a vibrant sheet behind her, her emerald green jacket making the color look even more red than it actually was. “No excuse, Mister!” She flashed a smile at him, causing his stomach to fill with butterflies. 

He still couldn't believe she had agreed to another date with him, after the disaster of the first. They'd gone to an Italian restaurant, but that was the only part that had gone right. He'd been late thanks to the unreliable subway system, a freak downpour had caused them both to be soaking wet, and the waiter had spilled pasta all over him. He'd been ready to give up and call it a night, when Tauriel had erupted in giggles. She had laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes, and Kili couldn't help but join in. He was cold, and soaked, and covered in pasta, laughing like an idiot, and honestly, he couldn't have been happier. 

“What do you want to go on first?” he asked, walking a little faster to keep up with her excited gait. Kili reached for her hand, but hesitated. What if she didn't want to hold his hand? What if it was too soon? He pulled it back, kicking himself for being a coward. 

“The Cyclone!” Tauriel answered, pointing the huge, old roller coaster. “It's a tradition.” 

Kili gulped. He didn't like heights, never had. He'd fallen out of a tree and broken his arm as a kid, and ever since, kept his feet firmly on the ground. But he wasn't going to look like a stupid scaredy-cat in front of the girl of his dreams. “Sure!” he replied, feigning enthusiasm. 

Tauriel's face lit up as she got on line, her dancing eyes pulling him behind her. The line wasn't long, and Kili grew more nervous by the second. He didn't want to make a fool of himself. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he listened to her talk. 

“I've been coming here ever since I was a kid. My dad always used to take me, and we'd always get on the roller coaster first, and we'd try to sit in the front car.” 

Kili smiled. He also had fond memories of going to amusement parks with his family, normally his uncle, mother and brother. His mother was a workaholic, but once in a great while, she'd take the day off and spirit them away for a well-deserved weekend of play. Fili and Thorin tried and tried over the years to get him on the roller coaster, but Kili had always refused. 

“Why the front?” he asked, as they got closer, his voice hitching treacherously. Tauriel didn't seem to notice.

“Because it's the best seat,” the red-head replied, breathless with excitement. “You're the first on the drop, with the wind in your face. I love it. I used to shriek like a banshee!”

Kili had to admit, it was a little infectious, nervousness and anticipation fighting in his stomach. He was terrified to get on this roller coaster, but at the same time, he wanted to feel the same excitement Tauriel was feeling. It’s perfectly safe, he reassured himself, trying to silence the nagging voice in his head. You’ll be completely fine. Nothing to be scared of. 

Their turn came more quickly than the lawyer anticipated, and, to Tauriel's delight and Kili's hidden distress, they clamored into the front car. She bounced into the far seat, buckling her seatbelt, firmly grasping the lap bar. 

Kili placed his hands close to hers, debating whether to take hers or not, inching closer only to pull away in a fit of nerves. Chicken shit, he admonished himself, pulling his hands into his lap. 

The roller coaster bucked to life shakily, and Kili held his breath as it began it's ascent, clicking loudly as it rose. By the time they got to the top, he was sweating bullets. 

“When we drop, you have to throw your hands up,” Tauriel whispered excitedly. 

“Why?” he asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. His palms were clammy, as he gripped the lap bar again. 

“Because it's more fun that way. Proven fact ... One... Two... Threee!” 

The coaster crested the final peak and dropped like a stone. Tauriel threw her hands up, shrieking in joy. Her voice mingled with the lower tones of Kili's as he screamed, his eyes shut tight in his terror. His stomach felt as if it was being shoved up into his chest. Black spots swam before his eyes and Kili clung tightly to the lap bar, feeling like he would fly out if he let go. He kept his eyes closed as the ride twisted and turned on its track. Only when he felt the car slow, did he open his eyes again. 

Tauriel was staring at him, an amused smile brightening her face. “Are you scared?” 

“No,” Kili answered shakily as the coaster came into the station and stopped. He hoped he sounded the least bit confident. “I just got a bug in my eye. That's all.” 

He climbed out of the car, holding out his hand for the red-head to grab. But she popped out of the ride without his help, and Kili pulled back his hand and shoved it in his pocket. “Where to next?” he asked lightly, nausea welling in his gut. He felt shaky and sweaty, but just a little bit proud of himself. He had survived the hellish contraption, without making a complete idiot of himself. He counted that as a win. 

Tauriel looked like she was having the time of her life, color high on her cheeks. With her hair fall in tangles around her, she looked more ravishing than ever. “Everything! I want to ride everything!” 

So Kili tried to shake it off- unsuccessfully- and followed her. “Lead the way.” 

Those three words opened a veritable pandora's box of anguish for Kili as Tauriel dragged him from one hair-raising ride to the next, each one guaranteed to terrify him. 

They had just gotten off the Steeplechase when Tauriel spotted the biggest of all Kili's fears: the Ferris wheel. 

Kili felt his heart clench. The other rides were scary, but they were quick, and Tauriel didn't notice if he closed his eyes. The Ferris Wheel was slow, and the red-head would definitely be looking at him. 

“C'mon... It'll be fun... The Ferris wheel is my favorite,” Tauriel begged, the lights reflecting in her eyes. 

“I thought we could go get some cotton candy,” Kili tried, hoping the promise of treats would distract her. 

“We can go get it after. Please?” she wheedled, her lower lip pouting slightly. Kili swallowed. She looked like a kid in a candy store, eyes wide with the promise of pleasures yet to come. She was looking directly at him, waiting. 

The lawyer, who was so good at resisting the pleading glances of suspects and witnesses alike, couldn't hold out against Tauriel's puppy dog eyes. 

Knowing he was lost, he gritted his teeth and steeled himself. “Okay... Let's go.” 

He regretted his lapse in judgment as soon as the ride started to move. As they rose up into the air, Tauriel began to lightly rock the cart. Kili, trying not to make his fear too obvious, gripped the sidebars tightly. His stomach was doing panicked flip-flops, and his throat was dry. 

“T-t-tauriel,” he mumbled, as the red-head rocked back and forth rapidly, sending the cart swinging. The ride stopped when they reached the top, and Kili finally gave in. He wrapped himself around the center bar and slid to the floor, shaking like a leaf. “Please stop!” 

Tauriel, who had been too busy enjoying the magnificent view, turned to look at her date. Kili would have felt embarrassed if he wasn't so preoccupied with terror. 

“Kili,” she stopped rocking and leaned towards him, laying a hand on his arm. “What's wrong?”

There was no use in trying to deny it now. All the evidence was there, laid out for her to see. Kili swallowed. “I-I'm afraid of heights.” 

She looked confused. “But the other rides... The Cyclone... the Double Shot...” Tauriel stuttered. Realization bloomed hot and fast over her delicate features and she smiled, laying a comforting hand on his cheek. 

“You silly man. You silly, stupid man,” she laughed, sliding onto the floor with him, tangling her legs with his. “Why?” 

Kili relaxed a little, feeling a little less fearful now that they had stopped rocking. “I didn't want you to think I was a wimp.”

The red-head didn't answer. Instead she pulled him closer, kissing him on the lips. Kili leaned into her, as the fear in his stomach evaporated. Her lips were warm and soft, her hands gentle as they moved past his ears to play with his hair. With one tentative hand, Kili let go of the bar, to caress her neck. He was so absorbed, he barely noticed when the Ferris wheel came to a stop on the ground. 

Tauriel broke away from him, breathless and flushed, to get out of the cart, ignoring the knowing eyes of the operator. Kili followed her slowly, letting the last few minutes catch up with him. 

“Let's go get that cotton candy now, eh?” she said, taking his hand easily. The lawyer glanced down at their hands and then back up at Tauriel, a wide grin filling his face and his heart. 

“Sure. After do you want to go on the Cyclone again?” 

If him being a scaredy-cat was how to get more kisses, he would have to go to amusement parks more often.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my wonderful beta, Beng! Love you ghivash <3
> 
> ~~~~~~  
> Please feel free to send me prompts for this series at :http://thatgorgeousarchangel.tumblr.com


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